Chest



Patented ug. -8, 1944 :.UNITED STATESN PATENT OFFICE CHEST Edward Roos, Jr., Western Springs, and Walter H. Ziegler, Forest Park, Ill.

Application April 29, 1943, Serial No. 485,030

(Cl. S12- 186) 2 Claims.

y This invention relates to cedar or storage chests, and more particularly to the mechanism for movably connecting and'supporting the tray and closure o n the chest body.

One of the objects `of the invention is the provision `ofnew and improved means for supporting the closure 0f a lchest in open position.

Another object of the invention is the provision of new and improved means for supporting the tray in a cedar chest.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new andiirnproved means for supporting and movably connecting the closure and tray of a chest to the body portion thereof; that is simple in construction; inexpensive to manufacture; efficient in use; and that may be installed with a minimum of time and labor.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the chest, showing the closure in open position;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the exterior of the chest, with the closure in` open position;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section, with the closure in open position; and

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Under war conditions it is desirable, in order to conserve metal for use in the manufacture of War material, that non-metallic material be employed as much as possible in the fabrication or manufacture of all classes and types of constructions that are regarded by the authorities as i non-essential to the winning of the war.

The present invention seeks to comply with this policy, and consequently, in the present structure, the parts are so constructed and arranged that Wooden material is employed to a maximum extent, thereby eliminating the necessity for the use of a great amount of metal previously deemed vital to the manufacture of such articles.

Referring to the drawing, the reference character I0 designates, generally, a chest, the interior surface of which may be of cedar, although this is not necessary to applicants invention. The chest comprises a base portion II, and an upper container or body portion I2 above the base. The body portion I2 comprises end walls I3, I4, front and back walls I5, I6, and abottom wall Il, as is usual in such constructions.

Hinged to the rear or back wall I6, as by the hinges I8, is a closure I9 which has a top wall 2|, a front wall 22, a back wall 23, and end Walls 24, 25. Mounted on the rear surface of the back wall I6 (Fig. 2) 'are one or more abutment members 26, which may be in the form of blocks, as shown inFig. 2-two being employed, The upper surface of these blocks is flush with the upper edge of the back wall I6, so that they will engage the back wall 23 of the closure for preventing 4the latter from being turned rearwardly beyond its vertical position, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The chest is provided with a tray 21, together with means for elevating the same when the clos- I ure is elevated, and for holding the tray in horiupper portion of the end wall of the chest. The

upper end of the link 28 is pivotally connected to an end wall of the tray, as at 3I, Figs. 1 and 3.

The rear portion of the tray is supported on the end Walls 24, 25, of the closure, as by means of pins or hinge members 32, which are preferably -of wood in order to conserve metal. pin 32 is rigidly secured in the end wall of the closure, and extends inwardly and loosely through an opening 33 in the end wall of the tray, as shown in Fig. 4. clearance for the link 28 spacer members 34 may be placed on the pin between the tray and the end wall of the closure, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4.

The location of the hinge pin or hinge member 32, and the lengths, positions and inclinations of the links 28, are such that the tray will be supported at all times in horizontal position, and will be supported substantially within the closure above the chest body when the closure is in lowered position.

Since there is considerable leverage tending to place a strain on the hinges I8 when the closure engages the abutment members 26 in opening the same, suitable means may be provided for assisting in relieving this strain. In the form of construction selected to illustrate one embodiment of the invention, the end walls 35 of the tray are extended rearwardly to form an extension 36, as shown in Fig. 3. In order to provide clearance for lowering the closure the extension 36 is inclined forwardly toward the upper edge of the back wall of the tray, as shown in Fig. 3. When the closure is moved to open position the Each In order to provide operation and construction of our device will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and that changes in size, shape, proportion and details may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a chest having front, back, bottom and end Walls, a closure hinged to the upper edge of said back wall, said closure having front, back,

top and end walls, a tray, a wooden hingeI pin nrigidly secured in each end wall of said closure and extending inwardly loosely into openings in ythe end walls of said tray adjacent the rear ends thereof, Wooden links pivoted at their upper ends lto the forward portions of the end walls of said tray and at their lower ends to the end Walls of said body portion for holding said tray in a horizontal plane in all positions of said closure, abutment means on the back wall of said chest flush with the upper edge thereof, the lower portion of the end walls of said tray being extended rear- 2,355,3352 Y i of wardly for engaging the inner surface of the top Wall of said closure for cooperating with said abutment members for limiting the opening movement of said closure.

2. In a chest for containing clothing and other fabrics, a body portion having bottom, front, back and end walls, a closure hinged to said back wall, said closure having end, side and top walls, a tray having end, side and bottom walls, means for pivotally connecting tl'ierear portions of the end walls of Said tray to the end walls of said closure, links movably connecting the forward portions of the end walls of said tray to the end walls of said body portion below the upper edges of said end walls, the connection between said links and the end walls of said tray comprising pins secured to the end walls of said tray and extending outwardly loosely through openings in the upper ends of said links, respectively, and abutment members secured to the upper edge of said back wall and functioning as` stops for limiting the rearward swinging movement of said closure, the end walls of said tray extending rearwardly beyond the back wall of said tray for engaging said 

